Ammar Campa-Najjar Discusses His Plans to Defeat Darrell Issa in CA Race

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2:08Ben Meiselas:Donald Trump's approval among Republicans is crashing. The latest NBC News report poll states the following. Trump's strong approval rating among those who call themselves MAGA amongst MAGA Republicans just dropped to 70 percent. He has a 30 percent disapproval amongst MAGA and then from others who just identify as Republican but not MAGA, his approval dropped from 57 percent to 50 percent. And we're seeing the pushback on a daily basis as Trump's behavior is just not acting like a freaking adult. Now, we know about all the dastardly things he's done in terms of ripping away people's health care, how he lied about making things affordable on day one and just everything that he says is an utter and complete fraud.

2:58Ben Meiselas:But just the behavior, not acting like a freaking grown up and an adult. And we would never even want children to behave this way. I mean, take a look after Donald Trump posted about Rob Reiner and Trump attacked Rob Reiner after Reiner and his wife were murdered. And the suspect is likely their son who suffered drug addiction. Donald Trump posted an attack on Reiner. And you have Republicans like Don Bacon saying, I'd expect to hear something like this from a drunk guy at a bar, not the president of the United States. Can the president actually be presidential? official Marjorie Taylor Greene, who Donald Trump said is no longer MAGA.

3:38Ben Meiselas:And she says she's American first, not MAGA. She goes, Rob Reiner and his wife were tragically killed at the hands of their own son, who reportedly had drug addiction and other issues. And their remaining children are left in serious mourning and heartbreak. This is family tragedy, not about politics or political enemies. Many families deal with a family member with drug addiction and mental health issues. It's incredibly difficult and should be met with empathy, especially when it ends in murder. Then you have people on Trump's social media platforms saying terrible response to this tragedy, unbecoming of the office of president.

4:10Ben Meiselas:I voted for you three times, but this is beyond the pale. And as we head into the midterms, we've been seeing Democrats with about a plus 12 to plus 15 overperformance in these state races and special elections. And so is there going to be a blue tsunami, especially as politics is usually a game of addition, not subtraction, as Trump is losing support amongst Republicans in MAGA, as independents are going more Democratic, and as the Democratic base is fired up. Let's take us to California for a moment where we can see after Prop 50 and some of the districts were redrawn there, MAGA Republicans are worried.

4:53Ben Meiselas:MAGA Republicans are nervous. They're running away when they're being asked questions. I think we have the clip right here of Daryl Issa, one of Donald Trump's fixer Congress members, just literally running away. And this guy represents the redrawn California 48th congressional district. He runs away when he's being asked questions about, hey, are you going to be running here or in Texas? Watch this. You can't close the door on me. What are you doing? Are you considering running for a seat in Texas. Why won't you answer the question, Mr. Issa? I want to bring in Amar Kampanajar. Amar, good to see you running against that guy.

5:32Ben Meiselas:Good to see you. Good to see you running against Darrell Issa, who's running against Manu Raju, apparently, and running away. He's running away from the camera. You've been endorsed by a ton of high-profile national Democrats. We have the list of all of those endorsements, but But this is a race that is expected to now potentially go blue. And you're the person who a lot of these Democrat national figures are saying is going to flip it. So so talk to us just about the climate in California's 48th right now. We'll get into your background a bit, but let's just talk about winnable race now. Darrell Isla going to lose his job.

6:08I think the fact that he's running away from Manuraju and California as a whole, you saw that he was talking about maybe going to Texas to run in a new district out there. I mean, Texas is quite far away from California's 48th, much less California itself. So I'm running against him and he's running, you know, for the exit. And, you know, I ran against him before in a very Republican district back when it was an R plus 15 district. Now it's a D plus three district. And that just tells you it swings by 18 points in my favor. I lost by single digits and I took some time away from politics, became a United States Naval officer and educator.

6:46And I'm ready to bring that experience to take on the fight to Daryl Issa once and for all. And this might feel like another interview, but this is really a retirement party for Daryl Issa. We're ready to get rid of him.

6:57Ben Meiselas:Now remind people you ran before against him. It was a very close race there in that district. And to your point, you ran. It was close in a different political environment. And now with this being a safer Democratic seat, that's that's one of the points that you've been making on the campaign trail. That's right. It's a newish, blueish district. It's still a lot of the old district I ran in. And look, since that last election, President Trump's approval ratings have gone in the tank. Right. And Daryl Issa has rubber stamped every single unpopular policy from this administration. You name it, from the tariffs, the big ugly bill, to the ICE raids and everything else that's really just wreaking havoc on our society.

7:43And even the tone and temper, the cruelty, the meanness of this administration. The Issa is, you know, the first congressman to ever endorse Donald Trump back in 2015. So birds of a feather. And I think it's an albatross around his neck in this new district. It's still a competitive district, but I think Darryl Isis is going to have to answer for a lot, including the fact that he just recently was thinking about leaving Texas. I mean, he doesn't care about the constituents of this district. And, you know, we saw what happened yesterday, the tragic murder of a beloved stalwart of our communities here in Southern California and throughout media and Hollywood.

8:23And you saw what Trump said. I mean, it's just despicable. And he's losing his own supporters every single day, except for one person who's with him every step of the way, has 100 percent voting record with Trump. And that's Daryl Issa. And I think voters are going to remember that come Election Day. And they're going to finally say we're done with this guy. By the way, this guy is a self-dealing kind of person, just like Trump. That's why people don't like him that much, because they're out for themselves. They're not looking out for their own constituents. That's why even MAGA is turning on these folks.

8:52Right. And you had Daryl Issa vote for the big ugly bill, which was taking away tax credits for working class people to give sweetheart deals for billionaires and millionaires like Daryl Issa himself. He's worth half a billion dollars. So all this self-dealing is just disgusting to a lot of voters, regardless of whether they're on the left or the right. And I think all that's going to be why his days are numbered in this seat.

9:16Ben Meiselas:Are you getting a different vibe? You know this district well. You know the area well. I think some of our viewers who may not be in California are surprised. Wait a minute, there's this reddish area in California, and there were some areas in California that went red, but Trump has attacked them. He's attacked all California, not just the overwhelmingly blue parts, the red parts. And now we know that this district has been rejoined after Prop 50. But are you seeing a difference in the area, in areas that Republicans have been able to actually make inroads into it. Are you seeing those roads go from inroads to outroads?

9:55Absolutely. I mean, people are really struggling with the cost of healthcare and housing and groceries, and they see the tariffs. They see that as a direct impact on their bottom line. They see their premiums coming in going to cost more next year. And they know that's because Trump held government hostage and refused to open up the government with a deal that would get us healthcare. And so we reopened the government without that deal and voters know whose fault it is because Trump could try to bullshit all he wants, but the Republicans control the house, the Senate, the Supreme court and the presidency.

10:29So when government is failing people right now, and it is, they know who's at fault. It is Trump and his party and sick of fans like Daryl Issa. And so we're going to get them out of office because they want people who will look out for them, who will build a government that works for working people, not a government that works for them and increases their own wealth, like Daryl Issa and Trump. They want fighters who will put them first. And even Republicans in this district are feeling, what I hear from them, they say, I feel lied to. And, you know, as Democrats, we could be like, well, I told you, but we shouldn't do that.

11:02We need to say, look, we know he lied to you and we understand and your family's struggling. This is not a time to be, you know, celebrating that Democrats were right and Republicans were wrong. Let us deliver for you. These are the policies that we want to implement to lower costs and raise wages. And if you give us a chance this election, we'll deliver for you. And I believe after two years, you'll keep reelecting us. I have this saying that I say, you know, you could belong before you believe in this campaign. If you're a Republican and you don't believe in everything I stand for, give us a shot as Democrats, the lower costs, increased wages, and then maybe your heart will soft into the more social issues that maybe are non-negotiable to you.

11:43But give us a chance to deliver for you and your families on the economics, because they know sure as hell Republicans aren't doing shit to help them out.

11:50Ben Meiselas:Amar, you and I were chatting at the Riverside County Democrats annual gala event, and I knew a little bit about your background, but I learned some new things there about how you lived in Gaza, and you have a very interesting and unique background. Can you share some of that just with our audience? Yeah. You know, I am probably Trump's nightmare, right? I'm Mexican-American and Palestinian-American. So he's trying to ban half of me and deport the other half. But I'm also a United States naval officer who proudly serves in uniform here in San Diego. I serve in the Pacific Fleet. And, you know, what I've learned is, you know, America serves best not when we lead by the example of our power, but the power of our example.

12:34And there are great servicemen and women who embody that every single day. And I've lived in parts of the world where, you know, war-torn parts of the world where there is no freedom, there is no democracy, there is no safety. And to see those values and those democratic norms challenged in our own country here in America is devastating to me. It's part of why I decided to run because, you know, we are a beacon of hope around the world, in blighted communities around the world and war-torn parts of the world and parts of the world that are trying to lift themselves up out of fear and poverty and oppression.

13:09And I think we need members of Congress who will stand up for the rule of law and who will project our values, not just here at home, but around the world and focus less on the battles that we're waging abroad and more at the ones that we're waging here at home, which is the cost of living and healthcare and groceries and the division we're seeing in this country. And, you know, I'm proud to have been endorsed by VoteVets, a national organization focused on electing people who've worn the uniform or currently wear the uniform because we tend to be more bipartisan. We tend to work across the aisle and work on issues both foreign and domestic.

13:45And, you know, my priority is to make sure that, you know, we establish, you know, prosperity here at home and peace abroad. and hopefully I could serve as a, you know, mediating and healing and inclusive voice on things here at home, whether it's economic issues or, you know, the conflict that's happening abroad with the Palestinians and Israelis. I really would love to see a resolution to that conflict that allows everyone to live with peace, prosperity, and self-determination.

14:15Ben Meiselas:Amar, where can people find out more about your campaign? Yeah, you can go to my website, Amar, A-M-M-A-R, 4FORCongress.com. We're trying to raise money. I don't take any corporate PAC money at all. We've raised$750 ,000 so far from 25 ,000 individual donors. If you'd like to join us, the water's warm. We've been endorsed by Congressman Ted Lieu, Eric Swalwell, Mike Levin here in San Diego, Scott Peters. Like you said, a host of national leaders who believe that we can complete the mission that we started together. We took on Daryl Issa. So we almost won. And now I think we can take on this congressman again, take this seat, and retire the first congressman to ever endorse Donald Trump back in 2015.

14:58So this is not just one seat. This would send a shot across the bow that the days of the Trump MAGA movement are numbered, beginning with the first person to ever support him back in 2015.

15:10Ben Meiselas:Amar Kampanajar, thanks for joining us. Thanks, Mr. Thank you so much. Appreciate you. Everybody hit subscribe and let's hit 6 million subscribers this month. Want to stay plugged in? Become a subscriber to our sub stack at MidasPlus.com. You'll get daily recaps from Ron Filipkowski, ad-free episodes of our podcast, and more exclusive content only available at MidasPlus.com.

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